Now And Forever!
by Gothic-Princess-77
Summary: When Lock, Shock, and Barrel said "now and forever" they meant it. Follow their journey as they meet each other, become Boogie's Boys, cause chaos, and find their way in life, all while sticking together like a very twisted and horrible family.
1. We're Dead

Hello, hello! This is my first Nightmare Before Christmas fanfic, and it's all about Lock, Shock, and Barrel!:) I love those guys! They're totally my favorite! So, a bit of background, such as how they met Oogie Boogie, what life was like before Oogie Boogie, and probably life after Oogie Boogie, too! Yah'll just have to wait and see!

Rated-T, for my paranoia.

**Warning(s)**

Mentions of child abuse and child neglect

Gore/blood

Violence

Otherworldly phenomena

Possible OOC-ness, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum

Is that all? I think so. If you don't like any of the above, kindly click the back button. You've been warned now, so no flaming me or my story if any of this does not sit well with you.

Disclaimer- I don't own the Nightmare Before Christmas...such a sad story it is.:(

* * *

Now And Forever!

Chapter 1

Sarah Flynn could not believe her luck. Her and her six-year-old brother Benny Flynn were...dead. There was no other explanation for it. How else could they be watching their own funeral, looking at their own pale, lifeless bodies and the weeping people gathered around? They all cried for the young deaths of Sarah and Benny Flynn, but they both knew that none of them cared.

Their parents had ignored them their entire lives, and not many people outside of the family had known they even existed. So, why were all these people here? Maybe just common courtesy. Sarah looked down when she felt Benny tug on her arm. For a six-year-old, he was very short, and still had some of his baby fat. She was beginning to suspect it was because all he ever ate was candy, one of the reasons their parents always got so frustrated.

"Sarah, now what?" Benny asked in his adorable voice. He was so innocent and naïve; Sarah envied him for that. Her baby brother could make any bad situation better just by being his adorable, naïve self, often cheering her up without even trying. Even if their parents were abusing her, Benny would just come along and cheer her up with his big, slightly insane, award-winning, smile. When they were alive, Sarah had hoped he would never change, but had known he would have to as he went out into the world and actually learned that not everything was lollipops and chocolate. Now that they were dead, would he have to change, or could he remain the same for...well, eternity?

"I don't know, Benny. Let's just...walk. We'll figure something out," Sarah said uncertainly, trying her hardest to sound confident, but she had a feeling that was failing. So she simply took her little brother's hand and walked away from the funeral, away from the memories of that pain-filled and pitiful existence they had called a life.

Benny just looked up at his big sister. He practically idolized her, he adored her. It made him sad when Mother and Father would hit Sarah. It made him sad because it made Sarah sad; it made Sarah cry. Benny didn't like that.

Now, Benny was no fool, and was rather intelligent for his age. He knew that what was going on in their family was not normal, and he knew if he told someone, something would be done about it, but they were never allowed outside. So how could he tell anyone anything? Benny didn't like it at all. But he hated his parents even more. They used to lock him and Sarah in the basement for days at a time, no food, no water, just the two of them sitting in the damp darkness with only the rats and the cockroaches to keep them company.

The cold and the dark made them rather disturbing children, their minds completely different than that of the few children they had watched interact in the streets around their house. It was a dark and dangerous place, their minds, anyway, and the only time they escaped was in the few books around the house. Even those books were dark, though. Horror stories that would make any normal child cry and kick up a fit and give them horrible nightmares that would emotionally scar them for life. It was a book of demons that had interested them the most. It told them of a town in the underworld, where the monsters of the night stayed until All Hallows Eve and then they came out to play, causing chaos and small, scary fun.

It was fascinating, and the two of them decided, that, yes, they wanted to go there and play.

But they knew they couldn't. They were trapped in this hell, but they trudged through it, practically clinging to each other as they went through life. As far back as they could remember, things had been like that. Mother and Father had called them monsters, saying they were both cursed the days they were born, and that was why they'd stopped having kids; they didn't want anymore freaky, monsterish children that would bring fire and pain raining down on the family.

"Sarah, where are we going?" Benny finally asked. He was curious about this new eternity they had found themselves in. What had that book called it? "A state of limbo?" Hm, strange name, but he wasn't about to say anything about weird names when that was probably the least of their worries.

Sarah sighed, as though she felt defeated. In truth, she was mentally and emotionally drained. She just wanted to curl up somewhere and disappear forever, but she wouldn't leave Benny, so she trudged onward. Finally, she replied, "Where can we go, Benny? No one can see us. We're trapped here. Don't ask me why; I don't know why."

Benny snapped his mouth shut. That was literally what he'd been about to ask his sister. So, he turned his gaze forward, and marched alongside his sister in the land of nothing.

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There's chapter one of Now And Forever!

REVIEW!


	2. Oogie Boogie

Hey everyone, I'm back for chapter 2! Now, I'll say this much: if I don't get at least TWO reviews after this chapter, I will not be updating for a while. Just saying.

Rated-T, for my paranoia.

**Warning(s)**

Mentions of child abuse and child neglect

Gore/blood

Violence

Otherworldly phenomena

Possible OOC-ness, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum

Is that all? I think so. If you don't like any of the above, kindly click the back button. You've been warned now, so no flaming me or my story if any of this does not sit well with you.

Disclaimer- I don't own the Nightmare Before Christmas...such a sad story it is.:(

* * *

Now And Forever!

Chapter 2

Halloween night. All Hallows Eve. The night of the dead. Never before had they actually gotten to see it this close, and yet, mow they could. It was...amazing. Never before had they seen anything like it, the beauty and splendor and feelings of wonderful unease that came from this night. It was the night of tricks, and the only night kids could devour candy with barely any scolding, and no feelings of remorse.

The two of them only wished that they were still alive to experience it. Benny's mouth was watering as he watched all the children hauling huge bags overflowing with candy. He loved candy.

His list of priorities? One, Sarah. Two, candy. That was all his life seemed to revolve around. And now, here he was, outside his dark basement on the one night of the year where you could get free candy anywhere! And he couldn't even enjoy it. Freedom was bittersweet, so it seemed.

"Sarah, I want candy!" Benny finally complained as he watched all the children pass him, his large eyes so full of longing and envy. After seeing children move past for hours, he was sick of that burning jealousy that wouldn't go away and made him feel...funny. He couldn't describe it very well because he'd never felt this way before, but he just wanted to start clawing everything, his face, his sister, the strangers. It was...unexpected and strange.

He couldn't decide if he liked the feeling or hated it.

"Benny, quit complaining. At least we're free," Sarah snapped. Ever since they died, Sarah had been acting weird. She felt so...angry. She wanted to lash out and hurt someone. Rage would consume her mind, clouding her memories and momentarily forgetting everything. Then she would shake her head like a dog a few times, blink, and things would become clearer. She had a feeling she knew what was happening; she remembered reading about it.

They were slowly losing everything. Slowly fading, and forgetting the very few happy memories they had. Their humanity was fading just as fast as those memories from that awful life before hand, fading like their now even more see-through hands.

It was because of this, that Benny clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and screamed. He flailed his arms, and collapsed on the ground, rolling around and screaming and thrashing. This was the first time in his life that he'd ever thrown a tantrum, and he just fell into the process naturally. It felt so right, so natural, and it was like something he'd been missing all of that short life he'd had. Sarah sighed, and slapped herself on the face, looking mortified, even though no one could see his tantrum except her.

She did nothing to stop his tantrum, simply sat down on a nearby garbage pile, watching as her brother kicked up a fit. It went on for a good two minutes before Benny's cries finally subsided, and he sniffed, glaring up at his sister as she asked, "You done now?" Frowning deeply, Benny stood up and kicked at a garbage can. Normally, he would have passed right through it, but this time it went flying and hit the ground a good distance away with a loud clang.

The two siblings shared surprised glances, and then devious smirks stole across their faces. This would be fun...

~BREAK~

They watched as the little child dressed as a cheerful flower ran away screaming. The two cackled gleefully as they floated above the door frame, and then Benny floated down to grab the candy. Concentrating, he scooped up some of the candy, a wide grin spreading across his face when he succeeded. He eagerly ripped the wrappers off and shoved the candy in his mouth. "Save some for me, you little glutton!" Sarah snapped crossly as she floated down beside her brother, snatching some candy as well. Even though this was fun, she couldn't help but feel so irritated and mad. It was completely weird and she wasn't sure if she was upset about it or not.

Shaking those thoughts off, Sarah returned her attention to the candy. Candy stood for all that was innocent and childlike. She wanted to hold on to that. Unlike her brother, Sarah took her time unwrapping the candy, and ate more slowly, savoring the candy, because she knew it wasn't likely they'd get much candy ever again.

"What's wrong, Sarah? We've got candy, we're causing chaos. Why do you seem so...what's the word?" Benny asked, tapping his lollipop against his chin, a look of childlike, adorable, concentration on his face.

"Distant?" Sarah offered as she popped another piece of candy in her mouth. She was amused by the look on her little brother's face, but hid it.

"Mmhm!" Benny hummed, a triumphant look on his face as he went back to his candy. The little boy was intelligent, but had a horrible case of A.D.D. He couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a few moments and often ran around like a rabbit on a sugar high because of the candy. He was so happy it hurt her to see him smile. Despite his rotten teeth, his smile was blinding.

"Whaddya think is gonna happen to us, Benny?" Sarah asked bluntly, glancing towards her brother as she unwrapped a lollipop herself and hovering over her brother as he picked up more candy. Benny just shrugged and continued shovelling candy in his mouth. Sarah scoffed and returned her attention to her lollipop. It was a blue and green swirled one. She twirled it between two of her fingers, watching as it turned and simply thought.

All their lives, they'd lived in their basement, malnourished, abused, or forgotten. In between those horrors they spent their time dreaming of getting away, of making everyone else's life a living hell like theirs had been. Now they were free, dead, but free. No one could see them, though, and it seemed the only time they could influence anything was on Halloween. So, what to do? What would happen?

A little boy dressed as a pumpkin walked past, stopped, stared at what he only saw as floating candy, and then he also ran away screaming. Sarah laughed as she did a flip in their air. "Look at that! I scared some little kid without even trying! I bet he wet his pants!" she said with a giggle and did a twirl this time.

"My, my, my. I must say, impressive, for children. What would you say if we made a deal?" Sarah and Benny spun towards the voice, Benny spitting his candy back out in his shock. He probably would have choked, if not for the fact that he was already dead.

Sarah floated down to be level with the thing that looked like a green potato sack, glaring darkly at it...him? The voice sounded male, but she wasn't sure. Crossing her arms, she spat, "I'd say who do you think you are, talking to us? And what makes you think we need or WANT your help?!"

The overgrown potato sack didn't seem impressed, and simply chuckled. "Why my dear children. Of course you need my help. You see, if you are not taken to our town of Halloween before midnight, you will fade away forever. And since I will be the only one to take you, I say what have you got to lose?"

"You must think we're stupid!" Benny snapped as he floated to his sister's side. He had a scowl on his face for once, and was doing a pretty good job of imitating that foul look she almost always had on her face nowadays. Benny didn't like how mean and angry she was, but he couldn't do anything about it. His sister was slipping away from him and he couldn't stop her.

"He's bluffing. He probably wants to turn us into slaves or something. Come on Benny. We have better things to do," Sarah snapped. With that said, she grabbed her little brother's hand and the two floated away.

~BREAK~

All night the two went around, causing chaos, scaring kids, stealing candy, and just overall having a good time. For once, Sarah was happy, and Benny was even happier than usual. He was with his sister, having fun, and eating candy. What could be better?

There was a downside though. That stupid potato sack had been following them around all night, nagging them, trying to convince them to join him. It really put a damper on their good time.

Finally, though, the mortal children were heading home. The lights were going out, one after another, as it got later and later at night and people went to bed.

That was when they noticed. "Sarah! Sarah, my hands! They're going all see-through-y, more than normal!" Benny cried, distressed as his hands disappeared from view. Sarah turned around, and sure enough, her brother was slowly fading away. She glanced at herself, and saw the same thing happening.

"Heh, what did I tell you?" the sack potato asked as he watched them panic.

Sarah flew at him and tried to grab him and shake him, but her hands went right through him, so she settled for screaming in his face, "You! Fix this! Save us! Do something!" The poor ghost girl was hysterical.

The potato sack smirked and countered with, "Only if you swear your allegiance to me, Oogie Boogie!"

Sarah scowled and opened her mouth to tell him to shove off, but Benny interrupted with, "Fine, fine, just save us!"

Oogie Boogie smirked, and led them towards the woods, where they saw a door with a pumpkin on it. Monsters were walking into the tree, and the siblings had time to stop and stare in awe. Could this be the way to that beautiful town of legend? The last monster disappeared into the tree, and Oogie Boogie pushed the two of them into the tree. Then they were falling down, down, down...

* * *

There! Chapter two! It's a little rushed, maybe, but I still want two reviews!

Review please!


	3. Pumpkins, mutations and powers oh my!

Hey guys! Guess who is back! Did you miss me? *CRICKET CHIRP* Huh. Guess not. Anyway. Like it or not, I'm back for chapter 3! No Lock yet, but I hope to have him enter soon! Updates on all stories are slow, and few and far between, but I have excuses, er, reasons! I spent a week in San Antonio (damn, is it hot there!) and I've had some AP summer work I've had to do. But fear not, I'm still dedicated to my stories!

Rated-T, for my paranoia.

**Warning(s)**

Mentions of child abuse and child neglect

Gore/blood

Violence

Otherworldly phenomena

Possible OOC-ness, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum

Is that all? I think so. If you don't like any of the above, kindly click the back button. You've been warned now, so no flaming me or my story if any of this does not sit well with you.

Disclaimer- I don't own the Nightmare Before Christmas...such a sad story it is.:(

* * *

Now And Forever!

Chapter 3

"Cool! It's a little treehouse! Is this where we're gonna live?" Sarah asked as her and Benny stared up at their new potential home in awe. It was built sitting precariously atop the trees branches with a possible underground area, dark and foreboding, just the way they liked things.

"You two will live in the top half, I get the bottom half all to myself," Oogie Boogie replied as he walked ahead of them, towards the treehouse. The strange thing had all but dragged them from the tree they'd fallen through and around the strange, dimly lit town. Past the stick trees, dark and mysterious. Over the curved hills, down a rocky old path, at the outskirts of this strange new land where the treehouse stood all by itself. The two siblings had a feeling that there was more to the situation they'd found themselves in than they previously thought.

"How's that fair? There's two of us, and I bet you saved the half of the house with more space for you!" Benny challenged, putting his hands on his hips and glaring defiantly at their new "master." He'd put up with a lot of shit from his parents, and he wasn't about to put up with any more.

"Fair's what I say! You work for me now, so don't question it!" Oogie Boogie roared suddenly, looming over Benny with a murderous look crossing his...um, face? However, it was effective, and Benny screamed, ducking back behind Sarah, who also gasped and jumped back slightly. Oogie Boogie quickly composed himself, standing back and continuing, "Now, about your names. They simply won't do. FAR too cheerful my children. Let's see, good names for a duo of mischief makers..."

Benny and Sarah shared looks of dismay as Oogie Boogie started mumbling some of the most horrible names under his breath. None of them sounded appealing to the two children. "Oogie Boogie, we like our names," Benny spoke up timidly, and then ducked back behind his sister when the Boogie Man turned his gaze on them. It was impossible to read his gaze as he stared at them.

"That's MISTER Oogie Boogie to you brats! You can keep the first letter of your name. Now. Get out of my sight!" Oogie Boogie roared irritably. The two spooked children jumped and raced off into the stick trees from before. They hoped to reach the town, and maybe explore a little bit. Instead, they came across a pumpkin patch.

"Look, Benny! Come on, let's play!" Sarah declared excitedly, racing into the pumpkin patch to pick up one of the orange things. Benny grinned one of his signature smiles and raced after his older sister. She was in one of her good moods and he was not about to pass up the opportunity to play with his sister. Sarah smiled a devious smile, turned around, and when Benny got near, she smashed the pumpkin on his head.

Benny was disoriented for a moment, and then reached up, grabbing for his head...the pumpkin was stuck on it! He flailed his arms and stumbled around, trying to dislodge the stupid thing while Sarah laughed, and then she collapsed to the ground, rolling around on the dirty ground, holding her sides, and continuing to laugh. Finally, Benny bumped his head into a tree and the pumpkin smashed, and the poor boy was once again disoriented as he spun around.

His gaze fell on his hysterically laughing sister and he scowled lightly before a smirk crossed his own face as he bent over and picked up another pumpkin. With that same smirk in place, he waited until his sister managed to stand, and then he smashed the pumpkin he'd hidden behind his back over _**her **_head. This time it was Benny who started laughing hysterically at his sister.

He vaguely could hear his sister shrieking at him like a banshee, but he just kept laughing, tears leaking from his eyes as he watched his sister flailing around like he had not even a few minutes ago.

"Who might you be, and what do you think you're doing to my poor pumpkins?!" Benny turned toward the voice, and saw a...tree?! It had skeletons hanging from it and it was walking towards him! Letting out a shriek, Benny turned and fled, wailing for Oogie Boogie as he went, leaving his sister behind as she was still stumbling around with the pumpkin on her head. When she finally smashed it, her expression was thunderous.

"Bennyyyyyyyyyyyy! I'm going to kill you!" Sarah screamed at the top of her lungs, so loud even Oogie Boogie heard her, glancing up from what he was doing before going back to his work, muttering something that sounded like "damn kids" under his breath.

With a battle cry, Sarah raced after Benny, breezing right past the tree without a second thought. Later, she'd want to go back and investigate, but for now, she was like a blood hound on the hunt, determined to deal with her annoying little brother the way a beagle might torture a squirrel. Painfully.

~N

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Two days later, a scream split the morning air in the dismal land of Halloween, followed by another, nearly identical scream, only more high-pitched. Oogie Boogie flinched as the sound woke him, and he glared as Benny and Sarah clattered down the stairs to talk to him, still screaming and babbling hysterically.

"Mister Oogie Boogie! My skin is GREEN!" Sarah trilled, shoving out her hands as she said so, a horrified look on her face.

"Green? Big deal! I'm like, so white I look blue, and my hands and feet are webbed!" Benny cried shoving his sister aside and waving his arms around in front of Oogie Boogie. The Boogie Man took a step back to properly study the two children. Indeed, Benny had gone white and looked a little blue, while his feet had become so wide and webbed, that they'd broken his shoes.

Meanwhile, Sarah had turned completely green overnight, her hair looked like it was drying up like a dead flower, and her nose was becoming crooked and bent out of shape.

He could guess what they were about to become, but he knew he had to explain to the two hysterically children before all of the denizens of Halloween came a-calling, demanding an explanation for such racket.

"Relax, it's all part of the process. You mutate in order to fit in here. I'd say, Sarah's going to be a witch, and Benny you'll end up a ghoul," Oogie Boogie explained. He was perfectly calm about it all, and the two children gradually relaxed.

"Will we have powers?" Sarah finally asked out of curiosity. Oogie Boogie gave what might have been a shrug, and the two children finally subsided, content to at least know they weren't horribly sick, or possibly even dying again.

"Now, if you're done freaking out for no reason? I've caught wind of a lost little human wandering around, and I'm going to go find it and add to this little family here. Don't! Break anything!" Oogie warned, and then he was gone, heading out the door and to search for another member of this screwed up thing he called a family.

Sarah immediately wandering back upstairs, her brother trailing after her, and she went to a door, opened it, and pulled out a broom, causing Benny to question her nervously, "Uh, Sarah? What are you doing?" He followed her as she went outside and stood there with the broom.

"What's it look like, numbskull? I'm going to be a witch, so I need to learn how to fly a broom!" Sarah snapped, holding the thing out in front of her and studying it. Benny frowned at the numbskull comment, but chose to ignore it for a moment.

"How are you going to do that? You have no idea what you're doing, and Mister Oogie Boogie said don't break anything! I'm pretty sure that includes your skeleton!" Benny snapped, crossing his arms. Sarah ignored him, and held the broom out in front of her.

"Hocus Pocus and fly or whatever!" she declared, waving her hand around even as it started glowing green, and then the broom glowed green, flew out of her other hand and started floating. "Awesome, and on the first try, too!" Sarah cheered before she climbed on.

"You're not really going to try that, are you?" Benny asked, once again feeling nervous, especially at the thought of his sister crashing into a tree or something and dying all over again.

"Sure!" Sarah replied. She was so excited! Power was what she wanted, and now it seemed she had it! And since his sister was so determined to be suicidal, Benny climbed on behind her, grabbing hold of her and shutting his eyes while Sarah advised, "Hold on tight!" And then the broom shot off, Sarah cheering and Benny letting out a high-pitched scream the whole way.

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There's chapter three! Did it seemed rushed? Ah, well, I'm proud of it!

Reviews are love for this story!


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